Her Heart Attack ended her Mud Racing Days

In this episode, hear how a heart attack on a mountain during a mud race changed Kelli’s sports trajectory.

Plus- what if the most important thing about pickleball…
has nothing to do with pickleball?

In this episode, we sit down with Kelli McRobert — and what unfolds is far bigger than the game.

Yes, she’s a coach.
Yes, she’s worked with elite programs.
Yes, she’s connected to some of the most respected names in the sport.

But that’s not the story.

The story is this:

She’s been quietly cleaning up the planet… for decades.

🌍 THIS IS THE PART YOU DON’T SEE:

While most people scroll…
Kelli stops the car.

While most people walk past…
Kelli picks it up.

Bottles. Cans. Garbage. Waste.

Not because it’s convenient.
Not because someone’s watching.

Because it’s the right thing to do.

🔥 WHAT YOU’LL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE:

• The childhood story that started it all
• Turning garbage into purpose (and even funding travel as a kid)
• Why she physically can’t ignore litter anymore
• The emotional side of seeing what people leave behind
• How one person can actually make a difference
• Why “someone else will do it” is the biggest lie we tell ourselves

⚡ THE TRUTH:

Most people talk about making the world better.
Kelli does it… one piece at a time.

And once you hear this conversation —
you won’t unsee it either.

🏓 YES… THERE’S PICKLEBALL TOO:

Kelli is also one of the most respected grassroots coaches in the game — building players, communities, and pathways across Ontario.

“The minute I can show someone one small thing… it makes my heart sing.”

That same mindset shows up everywhere in her life.

🔗 CONNECT WITH KELLI & HER COACHING WORLD:


👉 Teach Me Pickleball Coaching with Kelli McRobert
https://teachme.to/listings/pickleball/pickleball-with-kelli-mcrobert

👉 Better Pickleball
https://betterpickleball.com

👉 Learn from CJ Johnson
https://betterpickleball.com/about

Watch the BounceBack Pickle Kitchen Conversations episode at this link:
👉 https://youtu.be/FEgVWMs-m_U?si=MJm64Nqq663RJkYU
 
🎯 ABOUT THE SHOW:

“More than Dinks, Drops and Drives – Stories from Behind The Paddle.”

This isn’t about how to hit a better third shot drop.
This is about the people… and the stories that actually matter.

💬 QUESTION FOR YOU:

Be honest…
When was the last time you picked something up that wasn’t yours?

🔔 SUBSCRIBE:

New episodes every Thursday at 1pm.

🏷️ HASHTAGS:

#Pickleball #KitchenConversations #KelliMcRobert #BetterPickleball #CJJohnson #CleanUpTheEarth #Sustainability #EnvironmentalImpact #MakeADifference #PickleballLife #PickleballCanada #CommunityMatters #BehindThePaddle #DoTheRightThing #LeaveItBetter

And that wraps up this episode of Kitchen Conversations.

If you enjoyed the conversation, be sure to follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves the game as much as you do.

And if you want the full experience, including the visuals, head over to YouTube and watch the episode at

https://www.youtube.com/@KitchenConversationspodcast

Or search Kitchen Conversations Pickleball Podcast

That’s where these stories really come to life.

You’ll also find links and show notes in the episode description.

Until next time…

more than dinks, drops and drives…

these are stories from behind the paddle.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Welcome to the podcast. Welcome to Kitchen Conversations. You know, when you meet somebody you've never met and there is that immediate and instant connection. Well, that's exactly what happened with Kelly McRobert when I first bumped into her at the Kingston Pickleball Club. I want to say probably two, maybe, well, I guess we're probably going on three years at this point. We've been friends ever since. And I have a high level of respect for Kelly's playing, for her coaching, for her refing. She's an advocate for the game. She's an ambassador for the game. But what really struck me in our conversation was her deep-rooted commitment to looking after Planet Earth. I knew Kelly liked to pick up garbage. I mean, if you follow Kelly on Facebook, that's a given. It's unmistakable. What I didn't understand was the level, the depth and breadth of her commitment to doing that, to cleaning up Planet Earth. I know you're going to love this conversation. I certainly did. The time just flew. And quite honestly, I could have talked to Kelly for hours. Kelly McRobert, welcome to the podcast. Welcome to the studio. I can't believe we finally did this. How long were we talking about getting you here? Weeks.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

It's been a moment.

SPEAKER_03 1:09

It's been a moment. You're the busiest person on planet Earth. I'm convinced of that. I don't know if there's science behind that opinion, but I think I'm going to dig on. I'm going to go on the Google. And I think if I type in the Google, busiest human on planet Earth, an image of you is going to come up for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Barely. I don't even think I scratched the surface of that, but thank you anyways. Yeah, you're welcome. Thanks for the invite.

SPEAKER_03 1:28

I appreciate you're here. I really do. And you and I have known each other a while now. And I loved you the moment I met you. And I say that, you know, with, you know, in the context of what it's meant to be, I don't want any trouble with James.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

But air quotes loved me.

SPEAKER_03 1:40

I do. Yeah. You and I just clicked. We really just did. And I think it's because we're both brutally honest to the point of perhaps being offensive at times, but I'm okay with that. I, you know, I've got a moral compass, Kelly, that guides me. I think you know that. It's an important part of who I am and how I approach things. And uh I think that's probably what resonated the most when I first met you. So agreed. So I'm glad you're here. Listen, I've got three things I want to dive into, three rallies, if you will. And in rally one, I really want to get into pickleball. When did it happen for you? And let's talk a bit about that in a moment. The second rally is your coaching and all that you're doing. And a moment ago, full disclosure, we had an off-camera chat, and I just learned something about you that has to do with better pickleball and a very famous pickleball person on the internet by the name of CJ. So we'll talk about that because I have no clue what's going on there. And then rally three, and this is probably the part that uh, you know, I think a lot of people uh maybe they understand it, but I'm not sure they understand the depth and breadth of your commitment to it. And that's making planet Earth a better place. And so let's touch on that on the way out as we close up the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Yeah, because that would fill the whole time period.

SPEAKER_03 2:45

It is. And I know you have a strong commitment. And you know that Fran and I have both done shoreline cleanups and we participate in Earth Day. And if we see a can on the ground, we pick it up and we bring it home with us. And we do it every time we're out with a dog. I don't think just once that we walk the dog, we haven't come home with something that we didn't leave there. So we're big on that. So so why don't you start us off in rally one? It's all you. I'll pass the paddle and the ball to you. And tell me about pickleball. When did it first enter your life? And do you remember specifically that very first game and perhaps who it was that encouraged you to try?

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Yes. So I do remember why I started pickleball. And that was because I had a health incident on a mountain where I went into ventricular tachycardia, didn't know it, got down to the bottom of the mountain. The ambulance said, You're having a heart attack. I went to the hospital, then they said you may want to revisit what sport you're playing. Because when you're doing mud obstacle racing, you're isolated, there's no help. If something happens, you're done. And I was over maybe 50. And he said, Yeah, revisit this. So I went to yoga and it was actually color yoga, and you would go to yoga, bendy bendy, and you'd start coloring in at the same time. So it's sort of art meets creativity.

SPEAKER_04 3:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

And someone beside me turned and we started chatting, and I kept seeing this person wherever I went, and they seemed to have similar interests. And they mentioned pickleball. And I said, Well, what is that? They said, Well, come try it at the Y. I said, I'm not trying that. And it was the name.

SPEAKER_04 4:12

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Deterred me.

SPEAKER_04 4:13

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

And then I said, Tell you what, you come do a mud race with me. I'll come try pickleball with you.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

Thinking this person's gonna say no.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Yeah, she was like, Yeah, no, we're not. She goes, Deal. Oh. So I went and I actually uh was in the same class, Andrea Blackwell. A bunch of us were in the exact same class. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 4:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

And it was six degrees of separation. I had brought another friend who knew Andrea. So everyone knew everyone. I started the sport. My first event ever was we went to a pickleball match against oh, it was way back when maybe Bev Vanderschorz says, I'm a pager or whoever it was. And they were at least 60 plus then. And we just had our asses handed to us.

SPEAKER_04 4:54

Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

Right? And I turned to this girl who learned she says, What was that? I said, Yeah, I think we just lost like a 60-year-old.

SPEAKER_04 5:02

Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

And it was 11 nothing, 11 nothing, and out. Wow. So I thought, I'm gonna have to learn this sport. So I gave up mud racing to the pleasure of James, because he was always concerned when I was traveling. And as you know, I go extreme. Yes. I set goals, I established the goal, and I was pushing it. I went to the world championships, I represented Canada, I did all this stuff, and then the doctor said stop. So I was like, maybe I could go hard in pickleball.

SPEAKER_04 5:26

Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

So of course I joined KPC, get on the committees, pickleball Canada, try and, you know, uh establish sort of a name. And then I took every course there was. Because once as soon as KPC would say, Hey, we're running a course, assign man, assign man, I'd do it. So I did them all. Then I thought, you know, maybe I could do this coaching thing. And that's where I got the bug because I was a teacher before.

SPEAKER_04 5:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

I taught computers and technology to uh disabled youth. And I thought if I could do that, maybe I could show people the passion I have for this sport. And that's where I got the bug. And since then it's just blossomed, I'll say, because it's all I want to do all the time. And the minute someone hits a ball and says, I can't do this, and I can then show them just that little thing, right? Low-hanging fruit, yeah, I it makes my heart sing. That's what I want to do.

SPEAKER_03 6:20

But what a lucky moment for you. I mean, really, you have to give up this sport that you're passionate about. That you've done it a very high. Devastated. Absolutely, Kelly. And in that moment, it's like, now what do I do? Because you're so driven and, like you say, goal-oriented, and you're just used to setting agendas and getting them done. And it's pickleball, you know, I've heard it said and I and recently on a recent podcast, you know, it changes lives. Does you know it sounds dramatic when we say that, but the reality of it is it does. And both you and I have had experiences with people and in your situation yourself who have stories about how the game came along almost at exactly the right moment. And it's fascinating. Meant to be. Meant to be, yeah. So that moment, go back to those first couple of games when you like it was it was immediate for you, right? I mean, nobody I've talked to, not just on the podcast, Kelly, but beyond on any court I've ever played on, when we talk about the game and how they found it or it found them, it is that immediate attraction to the game. I can't figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

Do you know what? It's because it's it's simple enough, right, yet challenging enough to keep you engaged in learning for, as you know, it's a seven-year journey. Now, maybe shorter or longer, I'm not sure. But back when I started, it was a seven-year journey.

SPEAKER_04 7:25

Right.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

I'm on year eight, and I'm like, yeah, I might be kind of plateauing where because do I how much time do I want to spend training? How much so I can see that. And I the minute I did it, I thought, paddle, ball, maybe some cute shoes, I'm in. And that's when I got hooked. And then once I got sponsored by Selkirk, I was in deep.

SPEAKER_04 7:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

Because now the challenge is can I try and get rewards and credits and earn things and work towards and strive and demonstrate and hashtag. Yeah, it was I drank the Kool-Aid.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

You must have been you must have really been something in grade four. Like all the kids must have been like, does this kid have to win everything? Like, what is with this Kelly kid? Like she's she goes for everything.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Always part of your DNA, just wanting to Um, we were definitely raised it was never enough.

SPEAKER_03 8:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Which is hard. Yes, but it's never enough. Right. So we're our own worst enemy. When is it enough? When is it enough? So even now, you know, successful, retired, comfortable, you're like, ooh, what's that's the next thing? And I'm learning to just be and do a little less.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

That's hard.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Yeah. Yeah, it's hard. Hence why it's more volunteer work and things that that give back to community versus yeah, the pay it's a different paycheck. Totally different.

SPEAKER_03 8:36

Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting. We you know, we had a small family business, Kelly, and just a quick side note on what you just said because I want to touch on it. But you know, we got into the habit of never being happy, you know. We could have the best day, the best week, the best month, the best fiscal. And and I think it kept us sharp. So the reason I bring that up is not because of that, but because of what you just said. And that is, I don't know if that's a terrible thing to always be looking for more. And I think there are people that would argue against it, maybe you would yourself in some moments, but I don't think that that's a bad way to go about things because it keeps you sharp and it keeps you on your toes.

SPEAKER_01 9:05

And it does. It keeps us driven. Yeah, it gives us a sense of purpose. Sure.

SPEAKER_03 9:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

But I kind of wonder when is it enough?

SPEAKER_03 9:13

Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

Or when when is that point when you go, I I've arrived.

SPEAKER_03 9:17

I'm okay. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

The I am I safe?

SPEAKER_03 9:20

Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Food, shelter, clothing, am I, you know? That's the hard part for me. And pickleball, I I do have to try and sometimes take a step back and not do as much.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Because I want to give the hundred percent, but I don't want to give it over a thousand different things because then it's not a hundred, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

Well, listen, as an outsider looking in, I don't know how well you're doing with all that. Yeah, neither do I. I'll be quite honest. And we're gonna talk about that too by the end of the podcast. But so that's pickleball. So pickleball, um, tell me about your pickleball playing versus drilling versus coaching. How do you separate the three of those buckets today? How's that look for you?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Uh, coaching is definitely now a little more in the four last year was tournaments, tournament heavy, okay, competitive, because you know, we got that four-letter word duper. Yeah. The minute that came out, like it really, you know, it used to be a little simpler. You'd have your CTPR, your all, and it'd be like, okay, there's that number. Right. Because I'm playing it. Now there's this other number.

SPEAKER_04 10:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

And every game, you know, it's so I struggled last year. Um, my goal was to get to a 4-0. I got to a 415.

SPEAKER_04 10:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Short-lived, right? Because you depending on what your next game is.

SPEAKER_04 10:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

And when we were talking about CJ Johnson, um, she's a friend and also a coworker, and I I love her. So I would call her and just say, struggling.

SPEAKER_04 10:38

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

I'm struggling. Like she says you have to not look at the ratings. Like your rating is separate from the passion of the sport. What do you love? What do you want? So I re-evaluated last year and I thought, what do I love? Coaching.

SPEAKER_04 10:52

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

So I had built up my business of white lake pickleball because I moved north to Godfrey. I started to establish the small community um programs. We had a traveling road show. We would take it to all the clubs.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

And that's when I found that that was my passion again. And I said, you know what? It's not the competition. While I love the competition, I loved meeting the people. Like Calmodos and I loved it. It was like family. You meet them and it's like family. You're there and it's family. But it's a lot. You're away from home, it's a lot of money, it's a lot of time. Um people aren't always their nicest during a competitive forum. So I just found I wanted to focus more on coaching. And that's where now this year I think is more building. I don't drill as often, although I say that, but I'm still sweaty from drilling.

SPEAKER_03 11:39

You just came from a big drill session, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

And we were working on some of trying the drills that I have, the new drills, where we're incorporating different little tips and tricks to get people a little more visual and more tactile.

SPEAKER_04 11:51

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

So I try them on victims and I go, hey, I need to try this. Try this out. Yeah. What do you think? Does this work? Does it make sense? What am I learning? Yeah. So I've been doing that. And that's that would be more my focus now. Yeah. And way less tournaments, even though I still I see them and I'm like, oh, am I missing out? I might have FOMO. Just a little bit. Fear of missing out.

SPEAKER_03 12:10

But who doesn't?

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Yeah, agreed.

SPEAKER_03 12:12

I mean, it's out there and and it and it comes in various forms and it shows up at times that you're like, where did that come from? Because I didn't think I cared that much. You know? Yeah. All of a sudden you're like, I think I care more than I thought I cared. And I'm telling myself I don't care, but apparently I care more than I thought I cared.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

And then you question why you're caring.

SPEAKER_03 12:25

Why am I caring?

SPEAKER_01 12:26

And then or you show up, like some tournaments, I show up and I'm like, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

I should have just stayed home and yeah, a little Netflix on the couch.

SPEAKER_03 12:34

Pajama weekend, maybe. Yeah. Yeah. You don't get many of those, I'm thinking. So yeah. Interesting. So if we were to put numbers on it, you're coaching 50, 60, 70% of your time right now in this moment. And I understand.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

If not more. Well, I've I'm coaching at a few locations, so it's it's keeping me busy.

SPEAKER_04 12:51

Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Um, two to three times a week for sure. We're trying to I'm trying to balance it out so I'm not getting burned out. Um so yeah, plus I play at different venues because, you know, I love the sport. I'm yeah, I'm the ambassador. I just want to go and play wherever we can play and build the sport.

SPEAKER_03 13:08

I love it. Yeah. And you know, Kelly, if you were to say to me, what's the goal of this goofy little silly idea you've had to, you know, create this podcast? That's it. You've just said it. And and it really is to promote the game. I I I kind of came into the new year into 2026 with a sense of responsibility to give something back to the game. And I'm not good enough to become a coach. And I I'm just not, and I never will be, and I'll never be a top-tier player, and I'm good with that. I can live with both of those. But I thought to myself, you know, where could I plug into this? And it went back to helping one of the local clubs with a digital newsletter where we were featuring some members. And I got thinking that that section of that newsletter where we spoke about, you know, we're gonna highlight Kelly McRobert, we're gonna talk about Bob Jones, we're gonna, that's the that's the section of that newsletter that got the most response and the most and so I thought there's something there. And so the goal of the podcast, and I and I mentioned this in most of the intros, is to just motivate one person per episode to pick up a paddle and try the game for the very first time. And so I'm waiting for that comment. And there's gonna be somebody listening to this podcast today, hopefully, that says, Hey, I love that podcast. Kelly was terrific, you were terrible, but I did listen and she motivated me to go out and try this game. And so when I get that comment, then I think I then I'm gonna smile. That'll be a good day for me. And let's add to that.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

So if there is anyone out listening that either doesn't have the money or the time or whatever it is, reach out because we can help you get a paddle, yeah, some balls, get you started. It's you don't need a lot of money to start the sport, and then we can get you on the courts and get you playing and see how fantastic it is.

SPEAKER_03 14:39

Well, the barrier to entry is so low, you know, to your point. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

I I and there's always paddles out there if people are worried and you know, you don't have to get the top of the line. We can get you something. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Pair of runners.

SPEAKER_03 14:49

Yeah. Have you got, yeah, two, have you got a left shoe and a right shoe? Great, bring them. Are they right?

SPEAKER_01 14:53

They don't even have to match.

SPEAKER_03 14:54

No, we don't care. Left and a right helps. I mean you're playing two rights, but that's up to you. So that's great. So you love the coaching, obviously. Where do you see it going, Kelly, at this point? What you know, you're working, you've done some work with Nike, the Nike.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Nike camps, yeah. Super fun. If you don't know what they are, it's a five-week program. We start with beginner intermediate advanced. We establish uh they have an outline of what they want, and then we really feed into it. Um, locally, we've really established a core group of people that are building on skill sets. We we try and get people engaged with little door prizes and then a mini tournament at the end, and they get to stand with their trophy. It's it's exciting. Um, and Nike's really pushing behind that. Um I don't know where my coaching is going. I feel like I don't feel I have to prove anything else. Right. I'm comfortable where we I love coaching. I really love coaching the beginner and learn to play. So I would be, I I don't even I I'm not gonna say ego. What it is is I want to then hand it off to someone who could give them another skill set that maybe they're a pro at or they're really good at. So I would hand it off to someone else after I've established here, come and play.

SPEAKER_04 16:03

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Have fun. Yeah, yeah. Then move on to so-and-so who really knows how this and this and this. So that's why any of my coaching team, I have a diversity of age and skill. Yeah, because that's what they're gonna focus on.

SPEAKER_03 16:17

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

And I'm like, you're gonna do that. And you have to put your ego aside.

SPEAKER_03 16:21

What do you think the biggest roadblock to people trying to game is, Kelly? So someone's listening to the podcast today. They've been thinking about it, they've got people they know in their lives that play the game and seem to like the game. What is the single roadblock that you encounter as a coach where people say, Well, I what you know, I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

They believe they can't do it.

SPEAKER_03 16:35

Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

I've never done a racket sport. I'm no good at sports. Yeah, I am not coordinated at all. I haven't, and we're trying to get people off the couch.

SPEAKER_04 16:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Come off the couch, try it, because we can modify the sport and the game. Like last week we played um three on three.

SPEAKER_04 16:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Because the people were um challenged to get moving around, their mobility was challenged. So we're like three on three.

SPEAKER_04 16:57

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Has to touch three paddles and over. Oh my god, they loved it.

SPEAKER_04 17:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Pickle volleyball, they were over the moon. We got them on the court. They can now come out and bash a ball.

SPEAKER_03 17:06

I love it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you don't, yeah, it's a game you don't need to really even learn how to score if you don't want to. You can go out with a couple of friends, and if all you want to do is hit the wiffle ball back and forth, then do it. And I think that's one of the most uh inspiring things for me, Kelly, when I'm at a club locally and I'm watching, you know, eight or nine or ten or twelve courts in action. And there's always this whole complete diversification of game strategy and game commitment. And this group over in the corner is giggling, it's hit and giggle and having a great time. And then you've got a more serious group, and you've got maybe a social uh you know power.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Yeah, they're having snacks.

SPEAKER_03 17:35

Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, their warm-up includes Starbucks drive-thru, you know, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

The group just wearing costumes.

SPEAKER_03 17:41

Yes, yeah. So I love it. I think if there's something about the game that really, you know, uh if you're thinking about it, that's it.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

It really is all ages. It is, and sizes and shapes, all sizes, all shapes.

SPEAKER_03 17:51

Yeah, yeah. And we've all been there. I've you know, I can remember several of my first games, you know, not wanting to be that guy and going out in the court and assuming that the person across the net I should go a little bit easy because of X, Y, or Z. Boy, yeah, you learned that little. And then I gave it to you. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, I had that 11-0 experience. So I just love it. Well, good for you. Well, that's awesome. You ever thought about refing? I mean, that's the one thing we haven't talked about, you and I, at any point, but you've done it all. You've played at the highest levels. You you I was a ref. Okay, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

So I did refing. I got to my level two. Did now they've fine-tuned and made it much more official. So for me, I found it quite stressful.

SPEAKER_04 18:27

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

So I thought, you know what? I'm gonna take the knowledge and just absorb it and know it. But I I'm not a ref.

SPEAKER_04 18:36

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

I am definitely not an enforcer.

SPEAKER_04 18:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Yeah. I would be the cheerleader on the side, but I'm definitely not the yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

Yeah. A lot of dedication. You know, you look at some of these tournaments, you look at nationals and things like that, and the level of pressure that I think is on that moment, you know.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

And it's a commitment too, right? Absolutely. You're committing to being there. I wasn't comfortable. Like if I was one day I was feeling really quite ill. We were outdoors at one of the tournaments, and I've been out there for it was 42 degrees, and I started to feel ill.

SPEAKER_04 19:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

Well, I was more nervous about having to ask for someone to replace me because you're in the middle of this gold medal 5-0 or 4-5 match, and I was like, I gotta like, I'm feeling really sick.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

And that moment there, I was like, this is not for me. Yeah. This is not for me. So I didn't renew. That's okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:18

That's one part of the game. And I think we can forgive you for that.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Thank you. But you know what? I think everyone should take a the ref courses.

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

They're brilliant. Start with lines, work your way just to understand the rules and how they're enforced. Yeah. Brilliant.

SPEAKER_03 19:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

Brilliant. You just don't have to use it. It's like first aid CPR. You hope you never use it.

SPEAKER_03 19:37

Right, but you know.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

But just in case.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

Yeah. No, it's good advice. Let's wrap up the coaching because I there's one question I did want to ask you. You got someone brand new coming into the game, Kelly. I mean, this may be biased on your part because of your commitment to coaching, but I just don't think a player should start the game without getting some kind of base foundation. You know, work with your local pro, work with somebody, reach out, you know, get online and look for somebody. And there's a lot of resources out there in which to connect with coaching. I it's probably the mistake I made. You know, I just kind of jumped into a game on a Monday night. And, you know, if I look back on it now, um, I kind of wish I had started, you know, with some base foundational uh, you know, insight and knowledge on that.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

So agreed. I think I did a learn to play, which was you know, literally 90 minutes.

SPEAKER_04 20:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

Now I feel you should start learn to play, then at least take a few sessions of beginner to really fine-tune, and then you're not setting up bad habits on top of that. And then the j the game is way more enjoyable.

SPEAKER_04 20:31

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Like people really I watch some of the kids bashing the balls, and I'm like, if they just knew to get to the line, or hey, you can't volley in a kitchen, that that would be really great because it would change the dynamic of the people getting smashed. Yeah. And they're like, you just have to be seven feet back. You're okay. Yeah. Seven feet back.

SPEAKER_03 20:49

Yeah. The other I had a really interesting chat with another uh gentleman uh who's very invested in coaching, Kevin Bees, and does a lot of online stuff as well. And we got into a kind of a chuckle over what we call the accidental reset, you know, because it's that moment as a social player, Kelly, when you're out there and you're just bashing it back and forth, and then somebody makes a mistake and actually resets that rally. And it and instead of it being three or four wax with the paddle and the ball, it's all of a sudden it's six or seven or eight. And then you have that moment where you get into a double-digit rally and it's like, wow, wow, this game's amazing. It's and I and I would encourage, and that's why I wanted to, you know, draw you into that conversation about coaching. I think if you take a little coaching, you'll get there quicker. And it's really the essence of the game. When it was developed in 1965, it wasn't designed to be a bangers game. And um, you know, with all due respect to those of you listening that play at that level, that's great. And if you're enjoying it, continue. But I'm encouraging you to try to get to those long. Just a little bit. Just a little bit and just see how it goes. And it'll surprise the heck out of your buddies because they're not expecting you to do it. So yeah, but that accidental reset, which is when you go to you know, whack one and you miss and you just kind of do an accidental dink across the net, you're like, Well, that was interesting. Yeah, we actually won the point.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

So I love when someone suddenly has an aha moment from a third.

SPEAKER_03 22:00

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Third shot drop and then just go, oh, now I can get there. And I'm like, yep.

SPEAKER_03 22:04

Yeah. You almost hear music like the angels sing. That's the known. Yeah, thank you. Great. Well, thanks for all that. We could spend all day talking about coaching, but I think we're getting the general gist of it. You love it. It's great. It is.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

And I feel everyone could should look. I think they should question who they're getting coaching from.

SPEAKER_04 22:19

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

Why they're getting it from them.

SPEAKER_04 22:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

And ask other coaches. Yeah. I don't believe there should be a one and done. I believe try a little bit of everything. Yeah. You can always add it to your toolbox.

SPEAKER_03 22:31

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Just a little tip and trick.

SPEAKER_03 22:33

Well, like any relationship, I think it's important that we click. I think you have to get me, I have to get you. And I think that sometimes, and and that's the other maybe side of this conversation why I'm glad we're having it today, Kelly. I think there may be someone listening right now that said, Yeah, you know what? I tried it and it didn't work. In fact, it hurt me. All I heard was all the things I was doing wrong. And the reason I reflect on that is that was my experience. The very first time I took professional coaching, this gentleman's a high-level player. He's very good, but we just didn't click. And he spent time telling me all the things I was doing wrong to the point where I came home and said to Fran, my wife, I'm not sure I want to do this anymore. It was pretty brutal. So I share that story only because it can happen. And I, you know, he's an excellent coach for the right player. I just wasn't the right player. It was my fault, not his fault. Um, but I think it's important to note that if you have tried coaching and it didn't work, please give it another try. Reach out and give it another go.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

And don't be afraid to go online too. It's a hundred percent. There's a lot of not great stuff out there. Yeah. But again, I'm gonna plug for better pickleball, which got me in to it. And I was skeptical. And when I went and looked at their videos and I started to really understand the concepts and I grew passionate, that's when I reached out to them and said, I want to work for you because I believe in this and I understand it. And I still incorporate it in my lessons from them because I think it's important to have that core and be consistent.

SPEAKER_03 23:55

Right.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

And it's easy. I'm like, oh, I get this.

SPEAKER_03 23:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Now I get it.

SPEAKER_03 23:59

Well, we will absolutely link back to all of that and more in the show notes. Everything that you want in there, we'll make sure it's there. But CJ is just, you know, and I think we're talking like everyone knows this, but maybe you could explain a bit more about that. You say Better Pickleball, but that is Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

So Better Pickleball is an online um resource with CJ Johnson and Tony Roig. They partnered up and they offer money-back guarantees. You can go and try before you yeah, and you're in these forums, you have live chats with them. CJ is a professional uh ski coach, pickleball coach, like she's done it all, and she's also a life coach. Right. And she's one that you could literally talk to live on a forum, and she's just honest and frank, and they say, You can go and try all these things, but here's what we found works.

SPEAKER_04 24:46

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

Take what you want, because this is what we're gonna do, and they guide you through these various levels. And there are quite a few, believe it or not, when you start talking about better pickleball, they know who we're talking about. Yeah, and it's and I'm hoping one day I can get her up here to Canada. I'm still gonna work on it.

SPEAKER_04 25:00

Wouldn't that be awesome?

SPEAKER_01 25:01

It'd be so great. But it's it's uh one method of learning. If you're visual, you go online. Right, yeah, and it's just a simple and I go still and I watch and listen to Tony because he breaks things down. He he takes professional videos and then goes, see? And it's not any criticism, right? It's this is what I'm noticing. To see it from a totally different perspective.

SPEAKER_03 25:22

Yeah. Sometimes, you know, a great player doesn't make a great coach either. Is a point worth making. You know, sometimes it's quite the opposite, you know.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

Didn't they used to say those who can't teach and those who do can't?

SPEAKER_03 25:32

And yeah, there is a bumper sticker about that. 100%, yeah. And they talk about the greats, you know, whether it depends on who what sport you want to pick, but you know, the the greatest player in in sport X, you know, yeah, his co his or her coach couldn't necessarily beat that person in the sport that they're but they can certainly help them. So I was gonna go here, but it just kind of popped into my empty head. But where do you see AI factoring into coaching and into the game itself? Do you see AI with line calls, Kelly, with coaching, with you know, uploading a video of yourself to AI and getting some kind of AI feedback? Do you see coaching being threatened in any way from AI at this point?

SPEAKER_01 26:06

No, I think we can, as with anything, I think we can take AI and use it to our advantage.

SPEAKER_04 26:11

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

I love the line call thing. That would take a lot of the question and guessing and you know, guesswork. Um scoring be fabulous. Uh-huh. It just tells me, you know, Sarah 2. Thanks. Thank you very much. Yeah. Right. And it it would actually help practice if you had a ref.

SPEAKER_04 26:25

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Because you have to wait, which calls the score. And I know they're it's coming. Yeah. Um I don't I don't feel threatened by AI for coaching. I still think you need a human touch. I think I could use that tool and then say, look at so let's work on this. And oh, you might, you know, because they might not have noticed it. Sure. So no, I I don't feel threatened.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

Yeah, good. Yeah, I've asked that question of a couple different coaches, and that seems to be the general you know, response to it, which is good. And I agree 100%. I'm with you on that. So I think there's a a place for it, and I think it's it's a tool, like yeah, like all other tools, you know. Like like when you start videotaping yourself, doing something, it's it's a tool. And if you have never videotaped you swinging a golf club or you know, or playing a rally in pickleball, you'd be surprised what you look like compared to what you think you look like in your head.

SPEAKER_01 27:10

Yeah, oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_03 27:11

Is that really me? My gosh, yeah. Yeah. Well, that's great. Well, listen, let's leave pickleball behind. As much as I hate to do that, because you know Well, we could be here all day. Uh we will be maybe. Yeah, it's it's just an endless game. And let's just close by making sure that those listening get what we're saying. You know, pick up your computer, your laptop, your phone, reach out, find it, and uh, and to your point, if you can't find it, there are ways to get connected to the game. And yeah, yeah, we'll help you out.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

There's lots of free learn to plays, there's pay to learn to play. Uh hopefully some of the communities are starting. We're trying to get more of the curling clubs that for the summer. Right. Some outdoor venues. There's lots of indoor venues in Kingston. There are more coming.

SPEAKER_04 27:47

So reach out, ask.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

There's not gonna be if you go into any space and say pickleball, you'll get one or two people that'll turn and go, I do that. Yeah, six degrees of separation.

SPEAKER_03 27:58

Yeah, it's funny. A closing note, I you know, you go back several years, you know, and it pickleball to tell someone you played pickleball was almost like you want to whisper it. Like, what are you doing for fun? Well, I'm playing a bit of pickleball. Oh, are you? I am too. You know, and then all of a sudden the switch flipped, and it just now it's like this point of pride. I'm a pickleball player, you know, and it's and those who don't do the eye roll.

SPEAKER_01 28:16

Oh, yeah, for sure. It'll always, yeah. Of course.

SPEAKER_03 28:19

We've got to hear about this again. Well, it's all we talk about at Christmas and Thanksgiving and Easter. So, what else is there to talk about except your pickleball game? So it's just such a funny word. Sometimes I find certain words, and maybe this is just me because my brain doesn't function like most people. I it just I giggle. Like I just sometimes I hear the word pickleball, and I just have to start laughing because it's just something about the name pickleball. Yeah, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

And ironically, I feel that is the only deterrent.

SPEAKER_03 28:42

Right.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

When people hear it, they're like, Yeah. Had they called it anything else, yeah, something ball, whatever you want to call it, people probably would have wiffle whacking or something.

SPEAKER_03 28:52

Something anything, but's where Selkirk's got it right. Like Selkirk markets like crazy, like the boomstick. Like, who doesn't want to have a boomstick in their hand?

SPEAKER_01 29:00

So the other day, someone came out to me and they said, Can I borrow your broomstick? And I'm like, the what? Because broomstick, I said, No. Are you trying to say boomstick? Okay. Got it. So yeah, now we call it the broomstick.

SPEAKER_03 29:12

Yeah. Well, I played this morning for two hours with a guy with a boomstick. He was more stick than boom, so it didn't go well.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Well, we when it first came out, we used to always hit it. If it was a good shot, boom.

SPEAKER_03 29:22

Boom.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

If it wasn't, we'd be like, oh.

SPEAKER_03 29:23

But I will say he did hit one smash close to my left ear. And boy, there was a like I could, it was a ringing. It was it was something else. He was a little too close for comfort. Anyway, great game. We're getting off target here. But listen, let's leave that all behind. Um, this is something that I, you know, I think people that know you and love you understand about you, but you are consistently on social media and consistently promoting all the things that you're doing, and we'll get to that in a minute. But one of the things that really inspires me about you as a person, Kelly, is your commitment to cleaning up planet Earth. And both Fran and I, my wife and I have been committed to that for a long time. I I was born in 67, and I hate saying that, but listen, we didn't do a lot right, you know, uh coming through. You know, the amount of waste and landfill that we created, you know, over the last several decades, it's it's um it's awkward to talk about. And um, so that said, there's not a lot we can do about yesterday. So we're focusing on today and tomorrow, and we do all we can to pick up things when we come across them if we're at walking the dog. And so I really want you to dive into that. And where did that start for you? Where was this sort of passion? Because it certainly is. You are consistently picking up and cleaning up. And tell me about that.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

Um, it's funny. I I don't even I just sort of know I've always been like that. We were raised that way.

SPEAKER_04 30:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

And I I mean, I'm you're the same age as you. Yeah. And I think back and littering back then was such a huge no-no for everything. There wasn't a single stitch. I remember when I was a kid, like if you saw a little, we pick that up, right? Whether it was yours or not, always pick that up. And I did. Then my mother, um, and she's deceased now, but what she would do, her passion was to go travel because we didn't have a lot of money. Yeah, they would pick up empty beer bottles or cans because they needed money. Yeah. So she said, Kelly, we're gonna go and because we're gonna go and to Bahamas. Okay, how much is it? And we'd plan how much and how many cans we needed. And we would go out every day and get cans and bottles. Cans and bottles, cans and bottles. So it was always again a goal.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

Yeah, yeah, a challenge. There we go.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

It's free money.

SPEAKER_03 31:24

Yeah, it's just lying.

SPEAKER_01 31:25

When you're exercising, so she'd be like, This is what we're doing this weekend. I'm like, Okay, cans and bottles. So now the problem is it's been so ingrained. Even when I drive by a can or bottle, I have to stop.

SPEAKER_03 31:34

You have to pull over.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

Because one, it's to honor my mother. Yeah, but two, I don't understand the waste of something that the incentive is monetary. And I know in BC, I don't know when this was, they used to monetize Tim Horton's cups. And the homeless could take the refuse, put it in, they would get 10 or 20 cents, whatever it is, to then buy food.

SPEAKER_04 31:55

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

And I thought, what a brilliant idea, because you're giving an incentive. So that's what started it. Then when I moved north and I not only made a lot of money on empties, so I don't know what's happening north of 401, but it just became a devoted passion, and I was insulted that people would litter on my street.

SPEAKER_04 32:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

And so the last one when we went to it was Godfrey, uh, I spent a month and a half trailers full, and we would clean up all the disposal sites and post get town to post signs because my birthday is April 22nd. Yeah, birthday.

SPEAKER_04 32:34

It is so, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

So of course, yeah, I felt obligated on my birthday. Yeah, I would ask people to come and they would not want to answer my phone call because I'd say for my birthday, this is what we're gonna clean garbage. And we've we've done that for now almost 20 years.

SPEAKER_04 32:49

I love it.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

And then I found this thing called um pitch in Canada. Pitch in Canada, they send you free bags. Okay. So of course I called them and now they send me 500 bags and I give them out to friends and family and relatives, and they call me and say, I need bags.

SPEAKER_04 33:05

I need bags.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

I got I got a hundred bags for you. And we would go out and they you can leave them roadside, and most towns will pick it up and dispose of it for you. So that's how that kind of got started, and I've never stopped. I I go out, I clean, and people are like, Well, aren't you frustrated? Yeah. But disappointed. But yeah. But the end result is you know, a critter is not gonna get a a beer thing wrapped around their head, or a dog's not gonna step on, you know, broken glass or razor blades or syringes, or you know, and I don't recommend anyone going out that's not prepared for what they're doing. Yes, right? Yeah, gloves and boots and picker uppers. We don't we don't touch biohazards or we figure a way to deal with it that's safe, right? Because my past job was safety officer. Yes. So of course I want people to be safe.

SPEAKER_03 33:53

Captain Cautious.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Yeah, but I also I just don't understand.

SPEAKER_03 33:57

I can't either, Kelly. I can't get my head wrapped around it. You know, you'll be following a car down the road, and something will just come flying out the window, or the other pet peeve I have. And guess what I'm an adamant non-smoker, I've never tried it. So, full disclosure, I've got a problem with people that smoke.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Cigarette butts.

SPEAKER_03 34:10

Uh God. Yeah, it's just such a mess. But you know, your beer can or or bottle drive, let's call it a bottle drive on the weekend with your mom. What a great story about your mom, by the way. Thank you. Um, dad did the same thing. Dad would put me in a car with my brother, drive down old country roads. He'd drive very slowly with the trunk open, brother in one ditch, me in the other, and we would grab them all and we would clean up, take them to the beer store. And then dad was generous. Now he drove the car, he provided the car and provided the gas for the car. So I can't remember the ratio split, but that was how Mark and my brother and I, Mark, would make certain, you know, a little bit of pocket change. And you learn about money. We learn about money, and maybe as important or more important, Kelly, we learned about just the amount of garbage that was out there. Yeah, that's and and maybe also there was a message from dad in the drinking and driving that was happening out there at a very tender age to recognize that these beer cans, bottle cane, vodka bottles, they were not just appearing out of nowhere. Somebody had finished them off and tossed them out the window. But I could never, as a child, and maybe again, we I no judgment here, Kelly, but you know, if my father or mother had ever caught me throwing something out of a moving car window, the beating I would have taken done the same. It would have been brutal.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

We couldn't even spit gum out.

SPEAKER_03 35:16

No, oh no, it had a place in the trash can. Everything had a place. That's what I see.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

I don't understand. Like nowadays, I know there's far less garbage cans around. Yes. I do know that.

SPEAKER_04 35:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:26

But every gas station has one. Keep a little bag. We used to remember you used to get those bags. You have the air freshener and the bag would hang there and you'd toss it, and then you go, mmm, tie off.

SPEAKER_04 35:35

Absolutely nothing. I don't get it.

SPEAKER_01 35:36

The ones that really I mean, there's things like old diapers, depends, those things really offend me because they balloon up and they're disgusting. But now it's the empty water bottles, there's a lot of them with the nicotine spit because they're chewing, and then they throw the whole thing up, but it's nice and contained. Why can't you just put it in your right? So again, to each their own. But I choose still when I go for a walk. My choice is I'm picking up what I see because I can make that one little bit so that if there's a heaven or a hell and there's a decision made, hopefully I can go up the stairs instead of down, but I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_03 36:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:13

But I've done what I feel I can sleep at night and go, I picked it up.

SPEAKER_03 36:16

I love you for that. Yeah. We had one of our sons home last weekend and we'd picked up on one of the walks last week a uh empty can of bush beer or something, and and we don't drink, Fran, I don't drink, and uh so it's out in the recycle bin. He happened to notice it and he said, You guys aren't crushing beer, are you? Or something like he goes? I said, No. He goes, I know you picked it up on your walk, you know. And like he knows, but it was kind of a running joke with him.

SPEAKER_01 36:35

But yeah, I'm gonna check your recycle bin on the way out.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

Yeah, you might want to. That can of beer is in 10 cents. It's in it. What is it?

SPEAKER_01 36:41

Well, it's 10 cents for an empty.

SPEAKER_03 36:42

I'll split it with you.

SPEAKER_01 36:43

Okay. You can have the whole thing if you didn't.

SPEAKER_03 36:45

I'm just happy it's not out in the ground anymore. Yeah, it's gotta go somewhere. Yeah. Well, so yeah. Well, listen, good on you for all of that. And um, as much as I love your story on pickleball, I'm I probably like your story on looking after planet earth better. I just think your commitment to that. And uh, do you have any sense of how much? I mean, if you were to put it into pounds, how much pounds of because I know when we did shoreline cleanup, we had a cottage for several years down here in Ganinockway, and we actually bought sit on top, beat 'em up kayaks that we didn't care about, and we would paddle our guts out, which was great because we love being on the water, we love getting the exercise. But the amount of stuff, Kelly, and there were two years in particular on the St. Lawrence River, 17, I think, and 19, where we had excessive flooding. So what had happened is the water had gotten so high, gone up on shorelines and pulled stuff like gas cans and boat seats. And but when you're going along a shoreline, you were teaching you know, you talk about birds and fish and fishing line, and yeah, it once you're hooked, you're hooked. You can't help it. No, you can't.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

We just can't and you can't not see it.

SPEAKER_03 37:38

Can't not see it, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

But no, we I was tracking for a while because as you know, I write for frontneck news and I still do it incognito behind the scenes because I love it.

SPEAKER_00 37:49

Right.

SPEAKER_01 37:49

I would write and note every week in the community piece how many empties to just make a point of what's going on out there, or this is what we did, or this and sometimes you almost want to shame people because sometimes you'll find their bill.

SPEAKER_04 38:02

Right.

SPEAKER_01 38:02

To whom it may concern, this is a thing. Please, please pick up your stuff, right? Don't bring it to the cottage and dump it out. But again, uh people have very different ideas. And but for me, that is my probably my biggest passion is making it better. Like one the other day I had someone ask me about the the forest. So we do forest management, whatever property we buy, and we we pay people to come and trim the trees and make them healthy. It's like, why would you waste that money? And I said, Well, I don't know, like, why are you spending that? I I said, Because I want to make it better.

SPEAKER_04 38:38

Right.

SPEAKER_01 38:38

When I'm gone, someone will be like, Oh, I can walk through, these are healthy trees. It doesn't have, you know, there's no ash beetle, there's no I've made it better than when I was here.

SPEAKER_03 38:48

But people Kelly, I think, can I say this carefully because I don't want to offend too many people, which we likely already have, but let's not try to offend anybody. Yeah, but you know, I think people have a hard time understanding someone doing something for the right reason when there's nothing else in it for them except it's just the right thing to do. There are certain people that struggle with that. Like, why would you do that? Like, there what's the upside for you? Well, there is a huge upside for me. Yeah, I am getting something out of it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:13

But I agree. I think a lot of people now have been jaded and hurt and jilted. So I could I can totally see. And I I'm I'm one of them.

SPEAKER_04 39:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:24

I sometimes I think, oh, I'm gonna get out there and just get punched in the face again.

SPEAKER_04 39:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

But then I just keep doing it because it's what you believe or it's what you want, or yeah, it's how you were raised. Like we can't Oh, you can't unlearn it.

SPEAKER_03 39:35

You can't unlearn that. Yeah. It's funny. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:37

We're too old to unlearn. I mean, I try, but we're too old.

SPEAKER_03 39:39

Well, yeah. Well, listen, we're on the right pathway. I'm gonna hand you that because I want you to look at it. That is a recycled pickleball from a young man in Florida. We did a podcast with him named Dylan Rosenthal. So he has collected cracked and broken pickleballs from across about 70 sites in the U.S., sent them to a grinding facility, took that material, sent it to somebody who turned that back into a pickleball. It's very first in the world. Something else. Yeah. It's quite a podcast. Uh it's up on the channel now, and uh, he was inspiring. And uh, so he's trying to get that uh scaled up at this point because you and I both know if there is a dark side to pickleball, and I hate to bring it up, but it is a cracked and broken balls, and what are we doing with them? And there are some avenues to deal with that, but so many of these crafts. Absolutely, Kelly. But how many Christmas trees and potter plants can we stick these in? So I think that's something that we as an industry and as a sport, and you know, we need to get on it. So you are holding one of the very first ever in the world. And interestingly enough, I threw that into a game at KPC a week ago with some of the guys, Chuck McDonald being one and a few others who have hit a lot of pickleballs in their lifetime. So these weren't beginners, and they didn't know I'd done it. And so after a couple of matches, I sat down and said, Something weird with that ball. And they looked at me and said, What do you mean? I said, I don't know, I just it just doesn't feel quite right to me, but maybe it's just me. You know, what are you feeling? He goes, nothing wrong with that ball. It's perfectly fine. It's you, you don't know what you're doing. I said, Well, guys, we just made history. We just played with one of the very first recycled pickleballs in the world. Yeah, so it was good. So I thought you'd get a kick out of seeing that today. And the coasters at your Evian water, you'll notice you have Evian and I have Tap because we're on a limited budget here, you know? Thank you for that. And we will recycle that properly by the way.

SPEAKER_01 41:13

I was gonna, yeah, I could, uh, or I could take the bottle and just refill it, keep it in the truck.

SPEAKER_03 41:16

Yeah, but we look after our guests here. Uh, another young lady named Millie Smythe uh has a company called Cracked Pickleball, and she too is collecting uh pickleballs from an assortment of locations in the UK. I spoke to her and she's turning them into coasters, carabiners, keychains, oh yeah, all kinds of neat things. Now, the argument against that one could be we're just reproducing more plastic, but hopefully repurposing it as opposed to having it hit a landfill. I'm okay with that. So, you know, same with the ball. I mean, that ball will eventually get cracked again. And if it doesn't hit another recycling bin, then we've created the problem again.

SPEAKER_01 41:48

So, how would someone donate? Like if we have at a club a lot of these that we want to donate, how do we do that?

SPEAKER_03 41:56

Yeah, you can uh check her out. I'll get you some info, but uh I will include her info in this podcast show notes as well. But she's what I'm inspired by are these young people, Kelly. They're both in their 20s and they're both trying to make a difference. And I think that's where I was kind of gonna wrap up this part of the conversation, tie it back to your to your ditch digging and all the things that you've done to make the world a better place. Ditch diving in ditch diving, yeah, for sure. Yeah, it's a better way of saying it, ditch diving. But yeah, fast.

SPEAKER_01 42:20

Well, I have lots of other profane ones that people call me, but yeah, ditch diving's a good one.

SPEAKER_03 42:23

Yeah, that's not the podcast for it. This is not that this is not that podcast. I digress. Yeah, the nine o'clock version, though. If you want to come back for the adult-only version, it's like a comedy club. We have the afternoon version, then we have the evening version. So yeah, well, listen, this has all been great. Let's wrap up with one final uh conversation. Um, I'm inspired by your social media presence. And because I'm now podcasting and trying to podcast and having come from a background of selling furnaces, this is all new to me. So I'm on the I'm learning on the job, but I'm loving it. And I'm loving it for one reason, Kelly, because I get to spend time with people who I like and I get to meet interesting people who I've never, you know, would never have met without the podcast. But um, I'm already starting to become slightly overwhelmed by how do I manage it? And I just look at you and I just, I'm so I'm just like, wow, how is she doing it? Um, you're out there, you're everywhere, you do it well, you do it at a level I think most people don't. So, how important is social media to you as a player, a coach, and a person today? How does that all meld into who you are today?

SPEAKER_01 43:21

Uh player, it was persistence and it was thanks to Selkirk that I even got into this because at the time when I applied to be a Selkirk advocate, there was no low-level, and I'm using that term with air quotes, low-level players.

SPEAKER_04 43:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

And I wanted to know why, because we were the the backbone of the professionals. We were the ones going to the tournaments, paying all the fees, buying their stuff, because we love it, right? Because we didn't get it free.

SPEAKER_04 43:48

No.

SPEAKER_01 43:48

So we were the ones. So I kept writing to them saying, pick me, pick me, pick me, pick me.

SPEAKER_04 43:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:53

Finally, they said, Okay, we're gonna pick you, stop nagging us.

SPEAKER_04 43:56

Right.

SPEAKER_01 43:56

And once I got into the Selkirk family, then I started. To learn, do I hashtag or do I at sign? Or and I had to learn that and the jargon, and then I got addicted.

SPEAKER_04 44:06

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 44:07

From a personal side, I'm trying to do much less because it's exhausting. And sometimes you don't always get the positive people think it's ego or what when really it's promo, it's literally promotional the sport.

unknown 44:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

There's no like people like, oh, what are you getting at? You don't really get anything. You're working your butts off, right? To try and get people to notice. Um, when I had White Lake pickleball, yeah, it was advertising to get people to want to do classes and courses, but we were so busy anyways, we there wasn't much more time in the day.

SPEAKER_04 44:39

Right.

SPEAKER_01 44:40

So I think it's a double-edged sword, quite honestly.

SPEAKER_04 44:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:45

I want to do it because I want people to know, but then on the other side, you're putting yourself out. It's like, you know, that uh whack-a-mole?

SPEAKER_04 44:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:52

I just kept going whack, whack. I'm like, oh, how much more can I take of this? So now it's very specific. It's food, as you know.

SPEAKER_04 44:58

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:59

Cats, ditch diving, yes, and cellkirk. Those are my three passions. And yeah, I want people to play pickleball. I want people to love the sport. I'd like them to call me if they need something. Not just coaching, just because there's a lot out there.

SPEAKER_03 45:13

There is Kelly.

SPEAKER_01 45:14

There's so much. Like, do I go pickleball Ontario, pickleball Canada? Is there insurance? What are you doing? Where are you playing? How do you right? So that's why I'm out there. It's far less um I don't know. It's a scary place out there because there's a lot of people who uh don't want to see you succeed. We're we're far less a society of supporting others now, which we used to be cheering now, it's a little less. Um so I'm still leery. Um I have good days and bad days online. Sometimes I'll go offline to take a break from all the noise.

SPEAKER_04 45:48

Good.

SPEAKER_01 45:49

And uh you know, I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing, especially the environmental. Yeah. I still want to promote the sport whatever way I can and help others promote the sport.

SPEAKER_04 45:59

Good.

SPEAKER_01 46:00

So we'll see. I'm doing way more volunteer instead of you know, I don't want money, I just want people out having fun, enjoying, you know, this isn't my career.

SPEAKER_03 46:12

No, no, you've done that.

SPEAKER_01 46:13

It's a hobby.

SPEAKER_03 46:14

Yeah, it's a hobby, Kelly.

SPEAKER_01 46:15

Passion.

SPEAKER_03 46:16

Yeah, you've you've touched on such an important point though today. And I just, you know, I think it's been said in previous podcasts when we think about pickleball, started in 1965 on Bainbridge Island. So compared to other sports, you know, I've been saying we're still in diapers. It's it's a sport that is so young and evolving and growing. And, you know, we didn't even touch on it. We won't, maybe we'll have you back for another chat at some point down the road to talk about the shift in the game from you know, serve, return, third shot, drop to God knows what, you know, because that's a whole different conversation. Reset, you know, accidental reset. There we go. We'll bring that up again. But I yeah, I think we have to be prepared for you know, the politics within the game just to be part of it. And we just have to roll with it. It is what it is. And and I love your attitude. Let's just get out there. And again, the podcast, in some small way, if we can inspire a person off that couch, great. I'm trying to do my part, you're doing your part. Let's just grow the sport. And when you talk to the legends in the game, which I've had a chance to talk to a couple, one in particular, Steve Peranto, you know, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. The the responsibility that Steve has, and you see it in his face and you hear it in his voice, Kelly, to just keep pushing this game forward, to advocate for it, to be an ambassador for it. And unfortunately, you know, since I got into the game two, three years ago, not everybody, that's not everybody's agenda, you know.

SPEAKER_01 47:31

And um oh no, with anything, often it comes down to money, profit. Yeah, you know, even some of the venues opening, like it's it's not a not-for-profit now, it's a it's an actual business. So there's this sort of so it's interesting.

SPEAKER_03 47:46

Yeah, it is interesting, and you have to tread lightly because again, but I will say, in all the time that I've been playing, which isn't a lot, but I'm gonna go in three, three and a half years now, Kelly. I can count on one hand a number of people that I've met through pickleball, I just don't think the world of. Like, in a sense, not not the same that really that you and I have, um, because that's special, but it's just they're good people. Most of the people I meet, most of the people I meet in pickleball through pickleball, and certainly through this podcast. You know, I started this in January, creeping people on social media, ironically enough, to bring it back to that, saying, Hi, I've never done a podcast. I actually don't have a podcast. I'm hoping to book some guests to do the podcast so I can have a podcast. And the response from the pickleball community across the globe. I mean, my first guest was from the UK, uh, has a Facebook group of 140,000 people following it called Senior Pickleball Tips. And he just agreed to come on the show. Yeah. I'm like, so I said to him off camera, why are you here? He says, Because I love the game.

SPEAKER_04 48:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:39

And you're trying to do something to help the game. And I said, But I don't really have a podcast. He said, I don't really care. That'll come. I will come and be there. And so I'll close on that note to say thank you for being here today. And um, my friendship with you is really important. And we don't get to spend a lot of time together, but when we do connect, we just sort of randomly bump into each other. All of a sudden there'll be a text from Kelly or Michael, you know, and they're always fun. And uh I always look for the cats because I always know they're coming. Yeah, I love that. So thanks for it. Thanks for food. Yeah, thanks for being here, and thanks for all you've done and continue to do to help this great game, Kelly. I really I mean that as a friend and just really as a as as a podcast. I'm speaking on behalf of the podcast. We appreciate you doing all you're doing, so thank you.

SPEAKER_01 49:15

Thank you very much for the invite and let's see everyone on the courts.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

Yeah, paddles up.

SPEAKER_01 49:19

Yep, get out there.

SPEAKER_03 49:20

Yeah, have fun. All right, thanks for this.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

Thank you.